Wearable technologies – such as smart watches, smart glasses, smart objects, smart earbuds, or smart garments – are breaking the established ground and offer new opportunities. These devices are body-worn, equipped with sensors and conveniently integrate into leisure and work-related activities including physical movements of their users. According to the recent forecasts (e.g. Cisco, Gardner, Deloitte) for 2018, portable technologies, including mobile and wearable devices, will form the basis of personal communications with the global wearable device data traffic increasing by over 60%.

Wearable user interfaces are just starting to transform user experience, improving integration of technologies into everyday life, education, and work. Since wearable technologies are likely to shape the future relationship between humans and computers, it is essential to look beyond the still mostly desktop-driven, narrow perspective of how technologies may enhance learning. We think that the Wearable-technology Enhanced Learning (WELL) is beginning to emerge as one of the earmarks of the transition from the desktop age through the mobile age to the age of wearable, ubiquitous computing.

The Chairs bring expertise in wearable-technology enhanced learning from a number of research and innovation projects.

Join the Google Group to keep up to date (EA-TEL membership recommended, but not required): https://groups.google.com/d/forum/sig-well

This Special Interest Group will stimulate common research on wearable-technology enhanced learning in the area of TEL. The special interest group especially aims to establish a dialogue between education and training organisations, vendors of TEL solutions, and research organisations in order to proactively promote the use of learning technologies and adequate methodologies in diverse environments (such as education, manufacturing, health). The SIG will seek to bring the different stakeholders together in order to enhance knowledge exchange, sharing and cooperation in this area. 

This will include the organisation of an annual workshop involving actors from computer sciences, educational sciences, social sciences, life sciences, and industry. Moreover, the SIG aims to maintain a directory of services and service providers, to ease uptake and upgrading of up- and re-skilling techniques and technologies. The annual workshop will be attached to leading events in the area, such as wearable technologies conferences and consumer electronics conferences. 

Moreover, the SIG will create a web space to share new research and collaboration ideas, e.g. Google and Google+ group, and a series of thematic live events, e.g. wearables at the workplace, wearables for healthy living, which will be carried out in form of web meetings, e.g. Google Hangouts. The members of the SIG will receive regular communication with the summary of current trends, research, events and initiatives.

These activities will contribute to the growth of the WELL community and increased awareness of the wearable-technology enhanced learning in the TEL research community. Joining the SIG will be possible by Members of the SIG will contribute to the advancement of TEL and to the dissemination of EATEL activities.

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